5 Common Problems with Flood Lights to Avoid

Flood lights on your property can make you feel far more secure at night. However, you may sometimes encounter problems with them. Fortunately, most problems can easily be avoided with a little planning and thought. Other issues can easily be rectified though they'll need a little more work in order to put things right.

Coverage

Flood lights are set up to light a specific area. The best way to make sure that they do the job they're designed for is to check the field of coverage of each flood light before you install it. To have a full field, make sure the lights overlap each other to illuminate the complete area.

Failure to do this can sometimes be rectified by shifting the angle of the lights. In other cases, you may be forced to move the entire light and this can be a major task. By taking care to prepare beforehand and plan things out, you can save yourself a lot of wasted time and work.

Blown Breakers

Before installing your flood lights, make sure your circuitry can handle the flood lights. It might prove necessary to put them on different circuits if a single circuit doesn’t have the capacity to handle them all. Failure to do this can result in having regularly blown breakers. You may also find yourself having to replace the bulbs in your flood lights more regularly.

Installation

Take care over the installation of your flood lights, especially if you’re doing the job yourself. It can be tempting to rush the task when you’re installing flood lights and this can lead to sloppy work and flood lights that don’t work properly.

It’s much better to take your time and follow the instructions properly. If you don’t feel comfortable working with electricity, hire an electrician to do the work; this can be a much better option than causing a short circuit or an electrical fire later because of poor installation methods.

Solar Flood Lights

If you use solar flood lights, there are other problems you can run into. If the sensor can see too much ambient light at night, your flood lights will believe it’s constantly daytime and won’t come on. You will need to think about where you’re placing the flood lights. If you do encounter this problem, you can cure it by applying some black electrical tape over part of the sensor.

The other problem is quite the opposite. Having the sensors obstructed by leaves and branches can cause the lights to be on far too often. You can stop this problem occurring by making sure you don’t put the floodlights where they can be obstructed. Alternatively, consider removing the obstructions before installing by cutting down branches or other invasive objects.

Weatherproof

Your flood lights should be weatherproof if you have purchased a good quality set. You can, however, protect them more by installing them in places where they’ll be less exposed to the rain and snow, such as under the eaves of the house or a garage. Making sure your flood lights are waterproof can help prevent bulbs from burning out.